Officers Hurt While Rescuing Woman, Dogs From Burning Car: Petaluma PD

PETALUMA, CA —A woman suffered life-threatening injuries and the Petaluma police officers who rescued her and her four dogs from a burning car were also injured, police said.

The fiery incident started around 11:45 p.m. Sunday in the 400 block of E Street — near Walnut Park — as officers responded to recurring complaints about suspected drug activity and other disturbances by the woman who appeared to be living out of her car, Petaluma police Lt. Garrett Glaviano said.

When officers first got to the scene, the windows of the car were completely covered. They tried to speak with the woman but she refused. The woman then slightly rolled down the driver’s window and dropped a lit piece of paper out of the car.

At that point, the officers took a step back. In an effort to glean more information before making another attempt to check her welfare, the officers again spoke with the caller who reported the woman.

When officers made another effort to contact the woman, she removed the covering from the driver’s side window and they could see she had a plastic gas container in her lap. She sparked a lighter and brought it to the spout of the gas can — causing it to ignite and setting herself on fire, Glaviano said.

Officers first requested an emergency response from the Petaluma Fire Department, then retrieved fire extinguishers and other emergency equipment Petaluma Police Department keeps in its patrol cars.

As officers tried to put out the fire, they broke the windows of the car and rescued the woman and her four dogs from the fully engulfed car.

They began rendering aid to the woman until paramedics arrived and took her by ambulance to a regional trauma center for treatment of life-threatening injuries.

The woman's identity was withheld because of medical privacy laws.

"Based on the observations of officers on scene interacting with the woman, her actions appeared intentional and consistent with someone trying to injure themselves or someone else," Glaviano said.

"If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis in Petaluma, help is available by calling 9-1-1 for emergency police/fire/medical or for the mobile crisis response team here in Petaluma called SAFE (Specialized Assistance for Everyone) or 988 for the suicide crisis hotline," Glaviano said. "The SAFE team can also be called directly at 707-781-1234. Additional mental health resources in Sonoma County can be found here."

The dogs were treated for minor injuries and were being cared for by North Bay Animal Services.

The officers who provided emergency assistance during this incident suffered minor injuries including burns and lacerations from the glass. They were also offered trauma support services.

"We would like to thank the neighbors in the area who notified us of the suspicious activity in their neighborhood as well as those who witnessed the tragic event and provided statements to our investigators," Glaviano said.

Police were continuing their investigation into the incident.

Police asked anyone with additional information or who witnessed the incident but has not yet spoken to an investigator to call 707-778-4373 and reference report number 23-2699.